According to Spears, 33 sculptors participated in this year’s event. The purpose, he said was to “recreate the magic of marble in all of its artistic, commercial, and industrial applications.”

The annual festival, which began on April 4, concludes on April 15.

Marble is Alabama’s state rock, and Alabama’s marble comes from the Sylacauga Marble Belt – 32 miles long, from the Coosa River to just south of Talladega. “The Marble City” is constructed on a solid deposit of the hardest, whitest marble in the world.